Act Now to Pass the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA)

We are 9/11 Families United for Justice Against Terrorism and we are mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, wives, husbands, siblings and survivors. www.justiceagainstterrorism.org/

"The terrorist operative who is willing to strap on a suicide belt is not susceptible to deterrence, but the individual donor who wants to support violent jihad may well be.” - Stuart Levy, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.

ACT NOW to PASS the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA)

PROTECT AMERICANS FROM FUTURE TERRORIST ATTACKS

Never in our history has it been more urgent for us to end the flow of money to terrorists whose radical ideology led to the murder of almost 3,000 souls and continues to threaten us here and abroad.

Tell Congress to pass JASTA, which will be introduced the week of Sept. 9, 2013 by Reps. Peter King (R-NY) and original co-sponsor Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) in the U.S. House of Representatives and by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) in the U.S. Senate, with a strong bipartisan cast of cosponsors anticipated.

On 9/11, al Qaeda terrorists executed a well-planned attack on our nation, killing thousands of innocent people on American soil, ripping apart families and injuring thousands more. Countless children are left with emotional scars that never go away. To this day, “Ground Zero” workers, police and firefighters are paying the price of their dedication with grave illnesses. Many have died and are dying from exposure to the WTC toxins.

Today, we know al Qaeda and other terrorist networks are still active and receiving funding demonstrated by the recent closing of U.S. Embassies across the Middle East in the wake of terror threats and reportedly three al Qaeda-assisted prison breaks in Iraq, Pakistan and Libya that freed more than 1,500 dangerous prisoners – many of whom were convicted or suspected of terrorist activities. We need this bill.

JASTA will reverse appalling erroneous court decisions on aiding terrorists and deter future acts of destruction, devastation and loss of life by accomplishing the following. JASTA will:

- HOLD ACCOUNTABLE anyone – regardless of his or her nationality or position – who funds or otherwise supports terrorist attacks on American soil.

- SEND AN URGENT MESSAGE TO THE WORLD if you support terrorism directed at United States citizens, you will be held accountable for it in the U.S. courts.

There is something fundamentally wrong about a judicial system that misinterprets laws and denies U.S. citizens the right to hold accountable in a court of law those who fund and otherwise actively facilitate terrorist acts against our nation. Currently, Americans have no legal recourse if the bankrollers provide financing to terrorists outside the United States.

9/11 did not “just happen”– it took years of planning and years of financing. As former Senator Bob Graham, co-chair of the Congressional Inquiry into the Intelligence Failures of the 9/11 Attacks, likes to say [paraphrasing] “do you really think 19 hijackers who mostly did not speak English, or barely, came here and did this all by themselves?”(See video: www.browardbulldog.org/video-bob-graham/.)NO, they had apartments and cars, took flying lessons and bought first class airfare tickets to practice and then commit their heinous acts of murder.

We implore you to TAKE ACTION NOW.

Together, with your support, we can make a real difference and spare our country another agonizing attack equivalent to 9/11 or perhaps of a greater magnitude.

PLEASE JOIN US IN OUR FIGHT FOR JUSTICE AND FOR THE SAFETY OF ALL AMERICANS.

To: Members of the US House of RepresentativesTo: Members of the Senate

RE: The Urgent Necessity to Shut Down Terrorism Financing

I am writing to urge you to take immediate action to STOP the financing of terrorism by supporting the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA ) sponsored by Representatives Peter King (R-NY) and Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY).

I am a resident of (town and state) and am greatly concerned about the gap in our laws that allows individuals and groups to knowingly fund terrorist groups like al Qaeda, as long as it occurs outside our borders, without any fear of civil liability.

Never in our history has it been more important for us to end the flow of money to terrorists whose dangerous ideology led to the attacks of 9/11 and the murder of almost 3,000 innocent souls. We know al Qaeda and other terrorist networks are still active and receiving funding as demonstrated by the recent closing of U.S. Embassies across the Middle East in the wake of terror threats and reportedly 3 al Qaeda-assisted prison breaks in Iraq, Pakistan and Libya that freed over 1,500 dangerous prisoners. We need this bill and urgently need your help.

A series of erroneous court rulings has undermined the intent of Congress by stating that U.S. civil courts have no jurisdiction against terrorist financiers if the money or support was given abroad even when the attack takes place inside our borders. The courts have also mistakenly allowed foreign sponsors of terrorism to invoke sovereign immunity.

The problem can be best understood by example: If we discover someone intentionally gave aid or money to the Boston Marathon bombers and that money had been given to them outside our borders – no accountability from a civil action would be possible.

Killing Osama bin Laden ended a painful chapter in our history. However, the fear of terrorism still lives in the heart and souls of Americans. Together, with your support, we can make a real difference and spare our country another agonizing attack equivalent to 9/11 or possibly of an even greater magnitude. (See: www.justiceagainstterrorism.org)

I urge you to act to insure the safety of all Americans and join existing Congressional support to PASS JASTA.